The present invention concerns vibratory conveyor tables.
Vibratory conveyor tables are used in various production operations for the conveyance of small particles including various food products. Characteristically, such tables include a base on which a power source is mounted for driving an actuator imparting motion to connector means coupled to a tray supporting the articles to be conveyed. Such trays are movably mounted on struts carried by the base to permit vibratory movement of the tray and advancement of articles thereon in a unidirectional intermittent manner.
Commonly vibratory tables are designed to convey specific articles with the vibratory tray travel calculated for optimum conveyance of the articles. Accordingly, a vibratory table intended for use in a particular conveying operation is not readily altered for use in a different conveying operation, for example, with articles of different size and/or weight. To modify throw or travel imparted to a vibratory tray entails considerable effort in the disassembly of drive components and substitution of different components. Additionally, the modification of a vibratory conveyor table can require taking of the table out of a production line for a substantial period of time, which is highly undesirable during the processing of food products as such equipment frequently operates on a 24 hour a day basis during such times. The changing of bearings, shafts, etc., can entail costly machining to modify tray action or simply maintain such a table as such components are often designed to accomplish a specific use. An eccentric drive for tray activation may include connecting rods and eccentrics while other such tables are powered utilizing drive leaves of planar shape terminating in attachment to other leaves which support the table in a yieldable manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,197 discloses a vibratory conveyor table utilizing connecting rods to couple an eccentric drive with the table with each of the connecting rods connected to the table by flexible tabs or strips.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,524 discloses leaf members supporting a vibratory table on a base of the conveyor with the leaves made of "metal, or of impregnated multi-ply laminated fibrous material . . . ". Vibratory motion is imparted directly to the tables of the machine by eccentrics and rigid connectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,186 discloses a vibratory conveyor table having an eccentric drive powering rigid connecting rods each terminating at their distal ends in fiberglass "flexures" which depend from table segments. The "flexures" are of planar shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,380 shows a conveyor table supported by resilient struts.